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Edgar wasn't a violent person, ever, no matter what he always resolved conflict using words seeing himself as too weak to win a fight but also very unnecessary to cause all that commotion for something you can resolve with words. But this time he didn't see the situation ending peacefully.
After finishing an extremely high-risk case Ranpo was left with half a dozen victims dead, including the attackers. The attack wasn't carried out by any organizations or as such but the impact was still big and even left some of them for dead at the scene. Which resulted in one of the surviving attackers targeting Ranpo for being the reason his brother was now dead. A rational person would see that Ranpo was merely doing his job but the guy didn't think so, he saw it as a personal offense against him and took it upon himself to take the detective down to his grave.
It was as expected going horribly wrong with every assassination attempt shortcoming as the guy underestimated the agency and Ranpo himself but it was still very annoying. It held Ranpo back many nights because they forced him to help clean up as it was his assisination attempt and now it was a personal inconvenience for Edgar. He didn't worry for Ranpo he was very smart but also nimble the guy didn't stand a chance but it was annoying having his boyfriend taken away from him at times by an angry criminal demanding justice somehow not seeing the irony in it.
So the writer took it upon himself to get rid of the problem. As stated before he didn't believe in violence to resolve conflicts but this wasn't a conflict this was a headache. It wasn't hard to identify the man or find his location. He lived above an arcade with only a goldfish for company, it would be sad if it wasn't funny. Dedicating his miserable life to inconveniencing his. He took that goldfish later and would tell Ranpo it was a gift from a guild member.
Before coming to Japan Edgar had bought a mansion away from Yokohama planning to settle in it for a few years after the job was done and he defeated Ranpo but seeing how everything turned out the place was left unused and empty. Edgar told Ranpo he was going to inspect a property he owned in Japan as he hadn't been in a long time and might need to hire someone to take care of it. Seeing as it technically wasn't a lie he just hadn't specified what he was gonna take care of Ranpo didn't see thru it and if he did he let him go with a kiss. He was sure the other would have no problem with Edgar taking care of the man but he wanted this to be a sort of payback, Ranpo did a lot for him and this was a nice gesture to give back to his boyfriend.
Edgar had hired a few people he knew thru the guild to kidnap the man and take him to the address he gave them saying it was some underground work for Fitzgerald, he didn't need to lie but he always felt like he needed to explain himself even to the criminal who just wanted his money.
Edgar had arrived at the mansion in the early hours of the morning after traveling the whole night by train. It was big, in the middle of nowhere he actually had to take a taxi to the location as he had no idea how to get to it. A very dark building on the outside he was sure he saw a few bats here and there, the inside matched the exterior it was dark with chandeliers producing a yellowish light, many spider webs, and lots of dust. It was abandoned.
He didn't pay it much mind as he wouldn't be permanently staying so it was no point in cleaning such a big space when it would be the same in a few months. Edgar left his bags in a spacey bedroom upstairs and as he unzipped the bag a furry creature jumped out into his hands, Karl. He had no idea when the raccoon jumped in his luggage but he didn't have time to scold him as he got a text the package was in the front, he just had to hope Karl wouldn't snitch.
The pair made their way down the stairs, opened the door, and in front of him sat a drugged tied-up man who had been disturbing Edgar's peaceful life with his beloved for months now. He sighed and started dragging the man by the rope he was tied with to the living room. He considered dealing with him in the basement but seeing how secluded the place was he could kill him in the front yard no one would even know. The man was out cold during the whole process of getting him in a chair and strapped to it, Edgar had feared he would be conscious during this part so he brought chloroform with him but he was glad he didn't have to use it at least for now.
Edgar didn't have much of a plan for what to do with the man, now that he had him unable to move in an abandoned mansion kilometers away from home, he was stumped. He could slit the man's throat now and get it over with but it didn't feel like enough, he had disrupted his routine for so long and to let him get away so easily. But what was an appropriate punishment? The man was still out so Edgar had some time to come up with something.. a murderous mastermind he was…
An hour or so had passed before the man sirred awake, in which time Edgar fed Karl and himself. The man had tape on his mouth and was unable to make much sound besides loud humming, he trashed around trying to set himself free before he spotted Edgar and Karl of course. The writer came up to him and harshly took the duck tape off, the man gasped and tried to regain his breathing before speaking.
‘’L-LOOK! I swear I will pay it off tell your boss to just give me a couple of days, please man I needed that money’’ He frantically spat out, and Edgar didn't even interfere he let the man ramble on until he took a good look at him and something in him seemingly clicked.
‘’Wait, no you! You're with that detective, fuck! Did he send you? He defeated me many times does he not want to get his fancy hands dirty so he sent out one of his goons after me? A bit pathetic no?’’ He was egging him on but it won't work.
‘’No, he didn't, he doesn't even know what im doing. Im his partner and you've been a real inconvenience to us recently.’’
‘’To you. I've been an inconvenience TO YOU! Your little boyfriend fucking murdered my brother im happy to be alive-’’
‘’You're a criminal, what did you think would happen while attacking a government building he was doing his job maybe you should've looked for one as well that goldfish looked pretty skinny.’’
‘’Keep my fish out of this..’’ he mumbled.
‘’So what's your plan, big guy? Keep me locked here until I die so I won't bother you anymore?’’
‘’You hope that would happen don't you’’ Edgar signed.
‘’To be honest I've never directly killed someone like this I have no desire for it but if it's for my dear Ranpo id do anything’’ His mind was far away but at the same time he was hyperaware of everything.
The man's face soured and his breathing fastened.
‘’W-what... Hey, look murder is a bit far no? I could just leave you alone right?! This worked very well as a s scaring tactic you said u have no desire for murder! Great I have no desire to BE murdered so could we make a deal I will never show my face anywhere near you I swear please let me go’’
The man had tears pooling in his eyes and he tried to break free yet again.
But it was clear Edgar didn't agree with that proposition, a nuisance like that is bound to come back, and he already went out of his way to prepare all of this so he had no other choice. Edgar walked to the kitchen put on rubber gloves and pulled a knife from one of the drawers, the man could still be heard yelling in the background. Violence like this always seemed unnecessary but knowing he was doing it for one he loved made his heart fill with love and desire, being so useful for his dear Ranpo getting rid of one thing that was ruining their dinners and lazy afternoons he was content.
He went back over to the living room gripping the sharp knife in his hand. Edgar put a firm hand on the man's shoulder his pleading and crying completely blocked out by his overwhelming thoughts of Ranpo oh how happy he would be when he saw the annoying man no longer bothered him, he would be ecstatic, and a little would he know it was all Edgars doing! He was useful! The right hand clutching the knife sprung forward and into the man's stomach, he stood in that position for a minute observing the man's face how his eyes widened and blood started pooling in his mouth.
‘’Noo… NOO!! Man listen to me please you seemed reasonable enough just a few minutes ago you can't do this you will have me on your conscience for the rest of your life..’’
‘’You dont get it..’’ Edgar whispered in his ear
‘’W-what don't I get? Explain it to me I will understand please I want to understand-’’
He twisted the knife widening the already bad wound and pulling it out stabbing it just under the ride side of the man's ribcage
‘’ This is for Ranpo, I would do anything for Ranpo... He is the love of my life I've admired him for so long, I took it as jealousy I felt for the best detective but no, he.. he is truly amazing and what you're doing to him was disruptive, we had a nice routine he would visit often and we would get even closer and closer being with Ranpo is always the best time anyone could ask for, even today I could've had him sleep over and wake up next to him, I could've slept in with no worry and my dear Ranpo next to me but no I had to drive out all the way here to deal with you!’’
Edgar suddenly overcome with rage started frantically stabbing the man, there was blood splashing everywhere, ribs breaking could be heard the man's gurgled cries as he choked on his own blood, but it was all worth it if he would please his beloved. He saw red nothing mattered until the disturbance was taken care of and he had his Ranpo back. His hand gripped the flesh on the man's shoulder as he supported his weight trying to use as much force as possible in disfiguring the mans remaining torso.
Edgar definitely overdid it but he didn't care. The fury in him died down and he was able to pull away and catch his breath he didnt even realize he was holding. He looked at the state of the man it had been mere minutes but he was a mess his body was gorey and looked like a wild animal had a taste of it, blood was seeping out of his mouth that hung open. His head was turned downwards and the unsteady breathing how completely gone.
The man's heartbeat man has stopped but Edgar’s didnt, his heartbeat was still going crazy he was hyperaware of everything way his bodied hands stood unmoving in the air, how sweat trickled down his body he could feel the blood flowing thru his veins but God did Edgar feel good.
He backed away from the corpse unaware of what to do next and hurried to the nearest backroom he hoped work, it did. He washed the blood off of him as much as he could in a rusted sink and changed out of his current clothes. The reality of what he has done still not setting in, his heart was going crazy Edgar was waiting for the moment it exploded but it never came only his ragged breathing.
The rest of the day passed by in a blur the writer found some old rags and a bucket as he tried to clean up the mess he made. The body was still in its place but all the scrubbing, back and forth from the bathroom had lessened the blow on the wooden floors even if they were still stained. He threw the clothes he wore in a random barrel in the basement realistically no one will ever find it even if he did nothing and left everything as it was but he wanted to respect the house in a way and not leave a bigger mess than there already was.
The body stood unmoving in front of him and for a second Edgar expected it to jump up at him but thankfully it didnt. At first, he considered just leaving it in the house but the mansion was old and he felt as if it had eyes over him so even in his shaken-up state he could tell it was a bad idea.
He still was sort of out of it he knew what he did he realized it but it just didnt seem to affect him. He was shaking yes but other than that and a frenzied heartbeat he didnt actually feel anything, at least he expected to feel free now that such a nuisance has been taken care of but it was as if his emotions had gone quiet.
Edgar put the man's body on a tarp that just lay in the basement and wrapped him in it tying some rope around certain parts so the other wouldn't slip out, it was the stereotypical body in the woods but he didnt care even decided to drag it outside and leave it not too deep in the woods.
Back at the mansion the business was taken care of, and the scene of the act was clean maybe even cleaner than before, he hadn't really used the rest of the house so there was nothing to even clean. Edgar took his bag from the bedroom upstairs and collected Karl from the backyard who was playing in the leafs.
When they came back home if Ranpo saw traces of blood on Karls's fur he didnt mention it.